Flex Trainee & Apprentice: Spring 2025

A new way to qualify

The Solicitors Qualification Examination (SQE) route to qualify as a solicitor is designed to open the legal profession to a wider pool of talent. It represents a significant opportunity for organisations to support the next generation of lawyers, and improve social mobility and diversity in the profession.

Our Flex Trainee programme helps socially mobile and diverse aspiring solicitors to make the most of this opportunity. We place Flex Trainees in legal teams over the two years of their SQE, where they gather valuable qualifying work experience (QWE) while completing the academic component of their qualification.

What is Flex Trainee

Flex works with the UK’s most forward-looking legal teams to make sure trainees are exposed to a wide range of work. Our trainees have been placed in renowned companies, including international banks and other financial services organisations, leading manufacturers and retailers, technology and telecoms companies, as well as charities. Trainees are employed by Flex Legal for two years* and seconded to a client's in-house legal team where they will be exposed to a wide range of legal experiences. Trainees either complete their placement with one organisation for the two years or will be placed across two organisations for a year each. At the end of the two years, and subject to passing the SQE assessments and gaining the necessary QWE, candidates will be able to apply to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to become a fully qualified solicitor.

*Progression from Year One to Year Two of the Programme is subject to performance and client demand.

What our current Trainees say

“This opportunity is making my dreams of qualifying come true and provided me two opportunities: to train in-house which is very rare for junior lawyers, and to build my legal and commercial network. In am so excited that such an opportunity is available to socially mobile students because at times it can feel like your chance will never come”

“It feels amazing to have finally achieved my goal of qualifying. It feels surreal and I’m truly thankful! I’m super happy to have achieved such a milestone, it’s made my family proud, and I’m excited to try and help other do the same”

Flex Trainee v Flex Apprentice

At Flex, you can join one of our two different programmes depending on how far along you are in your legal qualifications. Flex Apprentice is designed for anyone who has not completed the SQE1 or LPC. Flex Trainee is for anyone who has completed the SQE1 or LPC. Please submit your application and we will review your experience and allocate you to the right programme. Please note, the assessment for Flex Trainee and Apprentice is the same but the eligibility criteria is different (see below for more information). 

What you will receive

With Flex's Trainee Scheme, you will get exposure to a much broader range of experiences in in-house legal teams across a variety of industries. Wherever you go during the programme, your 'home-base' will always be Flex, who will make sure that you're well taken care of. As a Flex Trainee you will receive:

• A salary of £30,000 in London or £25,000 in the regions

• Flex Apprentice candidates: The SQE 1 & 2 preparation course plus your SQE exams, all fully funded

• Flex Trainee candidates: The SQE 2 preparation course plus your SQE exams, all fully funded

• A 3 week Readiness Programme before you start your first placement to allow you to hit the ground running

• An in-house supervisor, who will meet with Flex every month to review your progress

• Regular 1:1s with a Flex development mentor in Y1 and a legal industry mentor in Y2

• Professional development opportunities with Flex through professional and industry networking events

• Access to the Flex Legal SQE Journal, which is Flex’s proprietary tool to easily record Qualifying Work Experience

• Up to one day off every week whilst studying for your SQE exams (dependent on whether you're a trainee or apprentice)

• A range of personal benefits, including private health care, a cycle to work scheme, and nursery benefits.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the Spring 2025 Flex Trainee programme, you will need to have:

1. Law-related qualifications: you must have satisfied the below requirements by the date you would start in Spring 25:

Flex Apprentice

1. Maths & English GCSE or equivalent

2. Completed a UK Qualifying Law Degree from any university

   1. You should have obtained a 2.1 or above (or an equivalent grade to this) in at least one degree or post-graduate qualification. If you have mitigating circumstances that prevented you from achieving these grades, you should still apply but inform us in your application so we can take this into account when assessing your academics.

3. NOT completed the LPC or SQE1 (Masters students eligible)

Flex Trainee

1. Completed a UK Qualifying Law Degree from any university

   1. You should have obtained a 2.1 or above (or an equivalent grade to this) in at least one degree or post-graduate qualification. If you have mitigating circumstances that prevented you from achieving these grades, you should still apply but inform us in your application so we can take this into account when assessing your academics.

2. Have a minimum of six months’ legal experience. We're especially interested in candidates who have in-house experience. If you don't, don't worry! We will assess your commercial awareness throughout the recruitment process.

3. Completed the LPC or SQE1

4. Willing to complete SQE2

2. Be a social mobile candidate: Flex Trainee is designed to bring socially mobile and diverse aspiring solicitors into the profession. We will assess your social mobility in line with the Social Mobility Commission criteria. As part of your application, you will be asked to provide more details of your background and upbringing, particularly related to your education and social background.

3. The right to work in the UK: you must have the right to work in the UK. Unfortunately, Flex is unable to sponsor work visas at this time.

Application process and start date

Please ensure you understand our application process by reviewing the following link: https://flex.legal/apply/flex-trainee

1. Apply via our careers page or one of our partner websites

2. If successful, complete our online assessments

3. If successful, book a 1-1 zoom interview with a member of our Talent team

4. If successful, attend and assessment centre

5. If successful, you will become a “Trainee in Waiting”

6. You will then start being proposed to our clients and complete client interviews

7. If offered a secondment by one of our clients you will be issued with a Flex Legal employment contract and start on our Readiness Programme in March 2025.

Applications for Flex Trainee close on Sunday 10th November.

Early applications are highly encouraged, as we often receive a surge of interest towards the end of the application cycle. Our assessment centres operate on a first-come, first-served basis, so it's beneficial to apply early. While we carefully review your application, we kindly ask for your patience as we may not be able to respond to everyone until after applications close. However, once we reach out, we would appreciate a prompt response to ensure a smooth and efficient process.

What Flex assess through our recruitment process

Throughout our recruitment process we’re not just assessing your legal knowledge! We’re most interested in hearing about your aspirations, your reasons for applying to Flex Legal and why you want to qualify as a lawyer. We will also be assessing your commercial knowledge and reasons for wanting to qualify in an in-house setting. In terms of competencies, we look to the O Shaped Lawyer for guidance on the most desirable attributes for an in-house lawyer.

We are a Disability Confident employer. We will make reasonable adjustments to support candidates throughout the recruitment process. If you require any adjustments or accommodations, please let us know, and we will work with you to meet your needs.